Why is SQ6 (generally) disliked?

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I realize this is an aging thread, but I just wanted to add my observation regarding SQ6:

Without SQ6, the Space Quest series would be complete. If the series had ended with SQV, then it would have ended on a good note, with Roger once again the prominent hero at the top of his game to seemingly live happily ever after...

...Until SQ6 came along, and:

Rendered all of Roger's greatest triumphs null. When the game opens, we're told that Roger's prior achievements don't matter.

Dropped a ton of new characters on us (Stellar, Circuit Syndey, etc.) who we're just to accept as having been close friends of Roger's, despite nothing having ever been mentioned about them previously.

Forced the idea of Stellar as a new love interest, which was unnecessary, since Roger had already "got the girl" in SQV.

Left us hanging at the end with the previous bullet point unresolved.

SQ6 is a disjointed mess, and lends nothing to the series. It just falls flat, and ruins an otherwise perfect series wrap-up that SQV offered.

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Rendered all of Roger's greatest triumphs null. When the game opens, we're told that Roger's prior achievements don't matter.\

That wasn't the only time it happened in the SQ series though. SQ2 reset the accomplishments of SQ1. You could argue SQ5 is the one that reset SQ4's accomplishments as well. In which case SQ6 actually reset SQ5's accomplishments.

I think the point the Two Guys were trying to get across is that Roger was always destined to be a loser no matter how well he did. ("Life sucks, again.").

Dropped a ton of new characters on us (Stellar, Circuit Syndey, etc.) who we're just to accept as having been close friends of Roger's, despite nothing having ever been mentioned about them previously.

More characters is certainly a departure from previous SQs, though Sludge Vohaul pretty much came out of nowhere as the big bad of SQ2.

Forced the idea of Stellar as a new love interest, which was unnecessary, since Roger had already "got the girl" in SQV.

Left us hanging at the end with the previous bullet point unresolved.

Well, that lack of a resolution is hardly the fault of SQ6. They probably expected to tie that up in SQ7. (The fan game Incinerations provides a decent resolution to the Stellar/Bea thing BTW).

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You could argue SQ5 is the one that reset SQ4's accomplishments as well.

Those accomplishments all take place in the future, so it's hard to say.

though Sludge Vohaul pretty much came out of nowhere as the big bad of SQ2.

There was more wiggle-room that early in the series for newcoming characters. Also, the name "Vohaul" was alluded to in SQ1, so at least there's a connection.

Well, that lack of a resolution is hardly the fault of SQ6. They probably expected to tie that up in SQ7.

It was introduced in the first place when it wasn't called for though, that's my point. I realize they didn't have the advantage of hindsight that there wouldn't be an opportunity for further storytelling in SQ7, but that doesn't change how out of touch this installment is with those before it.

Maybe I'll play Incinerations one of these days. I generally stay away from fan works, but it does look impressive.

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Regarding characters that Roger "already knew" that weren't mentioned before, I don't think he knew them before. I was under the impression that between the introduction cutscene where he was demoted and the point where you start the game and get sent to shore leave on Polysorbate LX, there would have been an indeterminate amount of time (perhaps a couple of months) that allowed Roger to meet and befriend members of his new crew. I don't think we're meant to assume that Roger knew these people before SQ6.

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Sorry about necro-ing this thread, but I found it an interesting read.

A major thing I disliked about SQ6 is that, underneath the humor, it felt a bit like an angry breakup letter. In the first minute, it had the infamous Goliath-Was-Destroyed-instead-of-Eureka continuity- error, and it felt like it was sweeping as much of SQ5 under the rug as possible. In Roger's quarters, there were no items from SQ5, and the narrator was even mentioning that the items were from SQ1 to 4. I'm among those who loved Space Quest 5 (my favourite along with SQ3 and SQ4), so I was disappointed.

I also didn't find the new characters or antagonists compelling (although Incinerations gave me a new appreciation of Stellar), and last but not least... I found many of the puzzles to not be fun. The datacorder puzzle was a chore, the shore leave on Polysorbate felt aimless (unfortunate, as the area was cool), dealing with the terminator in the bar was frustrating, and even the part in the Deep Ship had less than interesting puzzles.